Cognitive neurodegenerative disorders are characterized by synaptic dysfunction, cognitive abnormalities, and/or the presence of inclusion bodies throughout the CNS containing, for example, but not limited to native beta-amyloid fragments, native and phosphorylated Tau, native and phosphorylated alpha-synuclein, lipofuscin, cleaved TARDBP (TDB-43), in various percentages and in relation to the specific disease. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorders characterized by memory loss, and significant research toward discovering treatment for this devastating disease has been undertaken.
Cognitive disorders that are not neurodegenerative, such as normal memory loss, as well as neurocognitive enhancement of normal individuals has become of increasing interest in the medical community (Farah, et al., Nat. Rev. Neuroscience 2004, 5, 421-425). Enhancement of learning and memory has been reported with amphetamines and derivatives thereof as well as other centrally-acting drugs. Certain nutritional supplements have also been reported to improve mental functions such as cognition and memory (Lanni, C., et al., Pharmacol. Res. 2004, 57, 196-213). However, many of these suffer from limited efficacy and/or untoward side effects due to their mechanisms of action.
Histone Acetyltransferases (HATs) are involved in histone acetylation (leading to gene activation), chromosome decondensation, DNA repair and non-histone substrate modification.